The history of Shiqiaopu in Mianyang

These two memorial archways in Qing Dynasty were found in the village at the foot of the mountain. One of these two memorial archways is called Baisui Square, which is used to be called Shang Memorial Archway or Li Family V Square by local people. According to the stone inscription on the memorial archway, it was built in the 12th year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, namely 1807, with a history of 200 years. The reporter saw that this square is about 14, 15 meters high and about 10 meters wide. The building is a triple-eave structure, and each floor has a pair of auspicious dragons with their heads held high. The whole archway is supported by a stone pillar of about one meter, with traditional classical auspicious patterns such as relief figures, flowers and birds and animals carved on both sides; Above the memorial archway, there are praises, such as "Emperor's kindness", "Over 100 years old", "Shengping Ren Rui", "Rong En Baishi" and "Invid Wohui". In the center of the archway are two pairs of stone lions, "sitting" on high stone pillars. On both sides of the stone pillar, there are patterns of elephants and arhats riding lions, and on both sides of the archway, there are more than 10 stone tablets embedded. There are also several couplets engraved on the square. Although hundreds of years have passed, the words on the stone square are clearly visible and the patterns are exquisite. Director of Shuiguanyin Taoist Temple, not far from the archway, pointed to the inscription on the archway and told the reporter: During Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, Li Qi, aged 0/04 in Mianzhou/KLOC, decisively ordered the allocation of food money to save the people from fire and water, which helped people tide over the difficulties and left an excellent reputation among the masses. At the same time, his 77-year-old son Li Tianai passed the Jinshi exam again, so he submitted his father's righteous act to the court. Emperor Jiaqing was very happy and ordered to build a century-old square for Li Qi as a commendation.

In the alley about four meters south of Baisuifang, there stands another archway-Wu Shaodian Xiaoyi Square, which is also called the lower archway by the locals. According to the written records in the workshop, during the Guangxu period, Wu Xiqing, the son of Wu Shaodian in Shitang Township, was promoted to be a court doctor and later served as the governor in Fujian. In order to repay his father's kindness, he reported to the court that in the fourth year of Guangxu, that is, 1878, Xiaoyi Square was built here for Wu Shaodian. The reporter saw that the length and width of this square is similar to that of Baisuifang, belonging to a three-story arch building. Each stone pillar is carved with stone lions and Kirin, which are magnificent and lifelike; Fairy tale groups such as "Two Dragons Playing with Beads", "Kirin Playing with Magpie and Plum", "Double Deer Looking at the Moon", "Kirin Playing with Golden Toad", "Double Lion Playing with Hydrangea", "Carp yue longmen" and "ROY Song Lao" abound. It is understood that these two memorial archways are two of the eight existing memorial archways in the Qing Dynasty in Mianyang, and they are also the most complete and exquisite memorial archways in Mianyang. Its carving technology is superb and can be called first-class.

The ancient archway has weathered and suffered man-made damage, which needs to be protected urgently.

Historically, Shiqiaopu was the only post road of Sichuan-Shaanxi ancient road, with beautiful scenery and endless passers-by, and it was one of the largest market towns in Mianzhou at that time. From the ancient city of Mianyang to the south, we first went to Shiqiaopu, then went south through Zaojiaopu, Xinpu, Jinshanpu and Dajingpu, and went straight to Chengdu. Liu Laohan, who is over 70 years old, told reporters that the former Shiqiaopu Street was between two archways, and the ancient Guanma Avenue passed through the middle of the archway. After the construction of Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway, the ancient Shu Road gradually withdrew from the historical stage. Now this street no longer exists, only two archways stand in the wind and rain. However, for Shiqiaopu villagers, the ancient road is still an important way for them to go to Mianyang City for fair.

At present, the two archways of Shiqiaopu are weathered to varying degrees, and a large piece will fall off when you gently touch the surface of Shiqiaopu. In some places, the handwriting has been washed away by rain, and various patterns have begun to fall off. Among them, the head of the "military attache" and the head and legs of the lion in the sculpture of Baisuifang have disappeared. The archway is overgrown with weeds, full of all kinds of sundries, and traces of graffiti can be seen everywhere. The old man in the village told the reporter anxiously that the land around the archway had been bought by the developer. I wonder if the new development project will conflict with the protection of cultural relics? At present, all the original villagers here have moved to the residential area of Shiqiaopu New Village, leaving only this stone archway damaged by wind and rain and man-made, which makes people feel very distressed. They don't want to see ancient cultural relics destroyed in their lifetime, so they urgently hope that the relevant departments can find ways to take some protective measures and leave this wealth of spiritual civilization to future generations. The villagers said that if Shuikannongji and two archways can be regarded as ancient cultural relics and turned into a tourist attraction, the cultural relics can be well protected.